We Are A Family
by nashaeexo
Summary: AU Mercedes Jones and Noah Puckerman have history. They dated a while back but ended things to work on their careers. Now she is famous singer/songwriter and he plays for the New York Giants. What happens when Noah finds out he has a child? Can he handle fatherhood? Will they last? READ ON TO FIND OUT. LEAVE REVIEWS, THEY ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED.
1. Chapter 1

**_"Puckerman Jonesing for Jones!"_** Mercedes read the newspaper headline aloud as she walked into her bedroom. "Cheesy asses." she thought out loud as she rolled her eyes and tossed the paper to Noah who had been sitting on the other side of the bed shirtless, sleep still in his eyes. Yawning he picked up the paper and read the title again. "Lame ass fuckers" he groaned. "Clearly, you're the one who's addicted." he smirked looking over his shoulder at his girlfriend. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, says the one who loved it so much he just _had_ to get a baby out of it." she sassed and adjusted his T-shirt that hung off her shoulder. Making jokes out of it was all they could do with the shit storm that was headed their way. Nothing had prepared either of them for this moment. It was in every newspaper, magazine and on every gossip show. Sure, being a celebrity meant allowing all of the world into your lives, but Mercedes had built a wall that only allowed them but so far. That was until the world found out that the NY Giants edge pass-rusher, Noah "Puck" Puckerman fathered the child of one singer/songwriter Mercedes "Miss Mercy J" Jones. TMZ was having field's day with this story.

"You know they're gonna be out for blood. Think you can handle it?" he asked placing a kiss to his girlfriend's lips.

"Do I have a choice?" she snapped then turned to apologize. "I'm sorry." she spoke softly and kissed him back, pulling away slowly. "I'll tell them like I told you. I've made some mistakes, mistakes I'm not proud of but I thought I was doing what was best for all of us, especially Leilani. That's all a parent can do, right?"

Noah couldn't really relate to how she must have been feeling, but still he nodded in agreement. Silence filled the air as they thought about what happened just a couple months ago that resulted in the mess they were going through right now.

_"No, no. He doesn't know. Why do you mean why? I can't tell Noah-" _

_"Can't tell Noah what?" he asked as he emerged into the kitchen where Mercedes was on the phone talking to someone, eyebrows raised as he placed a kiss to the side of her head. He couldn't tell who, but from the look on her face he could tell that she and whoever was one the other line were in a deep conversation and he wasn't supposed to hear anything of it. _

_"Oh n-nothing. Nothing at all." Mercedes stammered biting her lip. "I gotta go." she whispered into the phone before ending the call. She didn't expect him to come that soon. _

_Mercedes and Noah had dated a while back. A romance that resulted in the birth of a beautiful baby girl, only, Noah had no knowledge of it. Mercedes was only a few weeks when she found out and had broken up with him. She blamed it on their busy schedules, something about not having enough time for one another. With football season starting and her recording her album, there was no way the two of them could stay together. At least that's what she told him. Noah was crushed but he believed she was right, so he let her go without so much of a fight , but vowed to get her back when the time was right for the both of them. They had only gotten reacquainted a few months ago at the premiere of a movie. A few drinks later, more than just words were exchanged and neither regretted the encounter. The pair began dating shortly after that, becoming Hollywood's "**IT**" couple. Everywhere they went, people were dying to know about the life of pro athlete Noah Puckerman and singer/songwriter Mercedes Jones. The issue that caused the most drama revolved around Mercedes' little girl Leilani Noelle. Mercedes had done quite a good job of keeping her daughter out of the spotlight. You only saw or heard about her when Mercedes wanted you to. It wasn't the life that she had chosen and she didn't want to put that kind of pressure on a child at such a young age. Still, many wondered how the former bachelor was adjusting to being in a committed relationship with a woman who had a child that, to everyone but Mercedes and a selected few, didn't belong to him. The media also played on the fact that when they did see them out together or whenever pictures of the little girl surfaced with she and Noah, the little looked a lot like Noah. Enough to possibly be related to him. Noah noticed too, only once someone said it but Mercedes seemed to ignore it, never cracking under pressure or giving Noah any inklings that the press might have been right. However, a little part of him wondered. A promise to not dwell or speak on the past is what caused Noah to leave the subject alone. If the little girl belonged to him, Mercedes would have told him so. _

_"How was practice, baby?" she smiled and turned to kiss him on the cheek, hoping to change the course of the conversation,_

_"It was fine." Noah replied flatly. "Now what can't you tell me?" he asked again as he stalked forward. _

_Mercedes shook her head and took a step back. "It's nothing just, um, Lani, she um, broke your watch. That's it, she broke your watch and I was just going to replace it before you found out." she lied through her teeth. _

_"My watch?" he asked confused. "Like my Rolex?" Mercedes nodded and he advanced forward causing her to back up more. "That's odd because well, my Rolex is on my arm." he flashed her the gold accessory on his wrist. "So tell me what's really going on. What can't you tell me girl? Spit it out!"_

_"Really Noah it's nothing." Mercedes reasoned as she made a B-line for the living room. _

_"You're lying. I can tell. Did you cheat on me or something? Please don't tell me you cheated on me." he sighed feeling his heart drop as he followed her into the living room. _

_"Hell no! I did not cheat on you. It hurts that you would even think so lowly of me that that thought was the first thing to come to mind." Mercedes spun on her heels and hit his chest. _

_"Thank god!" he whispered to himself and sighed in relief. "I don't think so. And I wasn't implying that you would. I just wanted to get the worse possible answer out there to eliminate it. Now look, whatever it is I'm sure we can work through it. Just tell me? Did somebody die?"_

_"Someone might, after you find out." she mumbled under her breath. _

_"What was that?" he asked as his brows furrowed _

_"Nothing." she shook her head quickly. "I just...I might have, sorta, kinda lied about something important."_

_"What did you lie about?"_

_"I didn't really lie. I just may have neglected to tell you something."_

_"Okay, well, what did you **neglect** to tell me? Come on, tell me!" he begged becoming impatient. "You miraculously got a criminal record? You had a one night stand in Vegas and you're still legally married to someone? You're a big shot drug lord? You work for the CIA and singing is just a cover? Like what is it?"_

_"No, Noah. I don't have a criminal record but I might after I kill you." she hissed. "A drug lord? Really? I do not sell or do drugs asshole. And no, I'm not married to anyone either, nor do I work for the CIA. This isn't Mr. and Mrs. Smith." she answered before he got to ask again. _

_"So what is it Cedes? I'm dying here." _

_"She's **yours**." she spoke softly, feeling defeated and flops down on the couch while tears stream down her face. _

_"What do you mean "she's mine"?" he asked confused about her confession. _

_"Leilani." she spoke above a whisper and flopped back on to the couch as tears filled her eyes. Her hands covered her face as she sobbed. She grabbed one of the couch pillows and placed it in her lap, bringing her feet up to her chest and takes a deep breath. "She's… she's yours. I... I didn't break up with you because our schedules became too much to handle, or because I cheated and got pregnant by someone else. Her hazel eyes and "I don't give a fuck attitude belong to you. She's your daughter Noah. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."_

_"You're lying." Puck huffed and jumped to his feet, not wanting to believe what he'd just heard. _

_"Look at me? Do you really think I'd lie to you about something like this." Mercedes shot back. _

_"You've lied to me before. How do I know you're not lying to me now?" _

_"I've never lied to you. I said I neglected to tell you things but I've never lied to you. Why the hell would I start now?"_

_"Lying. Not telling me. It's all the same damn thing Mercedes."_

_"No it's not. I said I was sorry Noah."_

_"Sorry my ass."_

_"You know what; I don't have time for this. You wanted to know so I told you, but since you can't handle it, just leave Noah. Forget I said anything and get the hell out of my house." Mercedes jumped up throwing the pillow at him, along with the rest of the pillows that decorated the couch._

_"Leave? Leave!? I'm not leaving! You tell me that she's my daughter and then try to kick me out. What the hell is your problem? Why would you keep something like this from me?" _

_"You were busy working on trying to be this huge athlete star and I didn't want to ruin your dreams. You worked so hard, I..I couldn't let you resent me. So I left, moved away and postponed my album until after I had her. I did little shows here and there. The label executives didn't mind as long as I was able to write number 1 hits." she spoke through the tears that had begun to fall free from her eyes. "I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't think we'd ever see each other again, not like this, so there was no need to tell you. And believe me, I wanted to tell you when we first got back together but I thought you'd hate me. Guess I was right." _

_"I don't hate you Mercedes. As much as I want to hate you from hiding the fact that I have a fucking daughter, I can't. But, I'M MAD AS HELL." his words dripped with venom. "Does she know? I mean she's still a baby and all, but does she know, that I'm her father?"_

_"First, 3 years old is not a baby and sorta. She knows her daddy's name is Noah and that your name is Noah. There's a picture in her drawer, but I didn't tell her that you were daddy. She just thinks you "look like daddy". You didn't know, so there was no reason to tell her then and there's no reason for me to tell her now. It would just complicate things." she tried to reason. _

_"What do you mean there's no reason to tell her. I'm her fucking and I don't want her growing up think that her daddy didn't want her. That's reason enough. So, I hope you're ready to tell her, because you're gonna tell her. NOW!" he demanded pulling her arm towards the steps. _

_"Who the hell do you think you are, telling me what to do? My father?" she jerked away from him. _

_"No! But apparently I'm her father!"_


	2. Chapter 2

**This update was longer over due. I'm currently working on updates for all the stories as well as some new one shots but I am a college student and classes have been kicking my ass so bare with me. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story. Please leave reviews!**

The conversation Mercedes was preparing to have with her three year old was not one she was looking forward to anytime soon. And if it was up to her she might have held if off for as long as she possibly could have. Noah had been on her case none stop about it. The night she told him, he forced her upstairs to tell the little girl. Luckily for Mercedes, Leilani had been out cold and Noah had learned from previous times what little diva the child could become when woken up from her beauty sleep. Mercedes used the window to talk him down from his rampage and he offered to give her a little time before he would take matters into his own hands.

That was almost a month ago and things were becoming quite awkward and hard for him. He'd already been very protective of the two of them, but just hearing that she was his daughter, definitely put him in true daddy mode. He'd had a couple of conversations with his mother and Bubbie, against Mercedes' wishes and they were both thrilled and upset. They'd both been getting on his case about settling down and having children, but they couldn't help but be upset that they had missed out on so much of the little girl's life already. And the fact that Mercedes was stuck on putting things off until the "right" time didn't make it any easier. Still they respected her wishes, understanding where she was coming from, but not so much accepting in the choices in which she took. Of course, just to be on the extra safe side, a DNA test was taking and if her looks wasn't enough, the DNA test surely proved that Leilani Noelle Jones belonged to Noah Puckerman.

Noah stepped into the role of fatherhood almost immediately. Completely aware that fathering a child doesn't make you anything but a sperm donor, from personal experience, Noah made sure he became very active in Leilani's life. He was stuck on trying to be everything that his own father was not. The two went out on little dates, sometimes with, sometimes without the company of Mercedes. He took her to the park or out for ice cream and even sat through tea parties with her and her stuffed animals; anything to get to know the toddler better. And he enjoyed every minute of it and Leilani did as well. He was willing and ready to do anything the little girl wanted to do as long as she was happy. Mercedes contributed to their bonding time by bringing her to practices every now and then, allowing her to play with the children of his other teammates, with Finn being the only one on the team with full knowledge of their situation. No one asked, and those who wanted to knew better than to open their mouths to speak on it.

Mercedes waited patiently for Leilani and Noah to return from the current date to get frozen yogurt from their favorite fro-yo place _Pinkberry._ She was banned from this outing like many others and decided to clean up the house a little, while fixing dinner for the three of them. In the process of cooking and cleaning she had come up with the decision that tonight would be the night that she'd explain herself. There might not have been much explaining for her to do since Lani was so young, but she was no dummy. She was very smart for her age and sometimes she surprised Mercedes with the vast amount of knowledge she had. As she closed the oven door where she was baking the chicken, she heard the house door shut and the sound of her daughter's laughter filled the room.

"Cedes, we're back." Noah shouted lifting the girl from around his neck and setting her to her feet. "Mommy, mommy, Uncle Noah and I got you a present." She beamed as she ran across to room into the arms of her mother who'd just exited the kitchen.

"A surprise? For me? What is it?" Mercedes asked as she pulled back from the hug.

"We got you fro-yo" she smiled widely, "but we ate it at the place." She ended softly, shuffling her feet back and forth with her hands behind her back.

"You ate mommy's yogurt?"

Leilani sighed and nodded slowly. "We ate it. Sorry mommy."

Mercedes laughed and kissed the top of her head. "It's okay baby. I forgive you."

"Uncle Noah too?"

"Yes, Uncle Noah too."

"Good, because we tricked you mommy. We didn't eat it." She laughed taking the cup of frozen yogurt from behind her back and shoving it into her mother's hand.

"You tricked me!" Mercedes gasped and started tickling the little girl.

"I got you good mommy."

"Yes you did baby, yes you did. Here, why don't you take off your jacket, put this in the refrigerator and go play in your room for a little bit. I'll be in there soon so we can have a tea party." Mercedes spoke to her, moving the curls from her daughter's face.

"Promise?" Leilani pouted a little.

"I pinky promise!" Mercedes smiled, extending her pinky and linking it with Leilani's smaller one. Once she let go, the little girl took off running to do as her mother asked, and Mercedes proceeded to join Noah on the couch.

"So how was your date?" she asked running her hand along her shoulder.

"Oh, you know, like all of our dates, it was awesome." He smiled at the thought of his time spent with his daughter and pulled Mercedes closer into him. "We had fun."

"Well I'm glad. Maybe next time I can go?"

"Okay, okay. I'll think about it." He huffed and she hit his chest playfully. "Fine you can come. It'll be good for us, you know. We need more family outings." Noah agreed.

"Especially since you like to hog my child." Mercedes laughed.

"Because you held her captive for so many years." He retorted.

"You got it." came her reply and she looked over at him for a bit although he hadn't seem to notice because his eyes was closed. She could tell he was still a little peeved and although he didn't say much, it was obvious he was mad she hadn't told her yet.

"Well, dinner's on. Keep your eye out. I've got a hot date with a diva that I must attend." She smirked and stood up, heading to Lani's room.

Mercedes gave herself a quick pep talk upon her arrival to the door that led to a Princess' Paradise. She opened the door to find Leilani already sitting at the table amongst her dolls and stuffed animals and headed straight for her bed.

"Ready for our tea party mommy?" Leilani asked looking over at her mother.

"In a minute sweetheart, but first, come and sit over here with mommy." Mercedes patted the side of the bed next to her and Leilani sat her doll down, to join her mother on the bed. She crawled up into Mercedes lap and got comfortable. For a while Mercedes just played in Leilani's hair, running her fingers through the curls, pulling them and watching as they bounced back, while Leilani sat quietly sucking her thumb. They had been sitting in silence for five minutes before Mercedes finally broke it. "You know that question you ask me a lot?"

"The one about a pony?" Leilani looked up at her mother smiling.

"No sweetheart, not the pony. The other one, the question about daddy?" Mercedes stopped playing in her hair for a split second to look at her daughter and continued right after she nodded.

"Uh huh. You always say not to worry about it because you love me and he loves me and that's all that matters, right mommy?"

"Right, kinda. You see… Ugh I don't know how to say this." Mercedes grumbled and Leilani turned around in her lap to face her. Mercedes thought to herself for a minute and pulled the picture of her and Noah out from Leilani's drawer. "Who's that?" she asks showing her the picture.

"That's you mommy and daddy right?"

"Yep. And Who does daddy look like?" she asked hoping this way would help her get what she needed to say out.

"He looks like Uncle Noah." Leilani answered proudly.

"Well that's because, he is Uncle Noah."

"Huh!" Leilani cocked her head a side-eyed her, her brows furrowing.

"Uncle Noah, isn't really your Uncle Noah. He's your father." She tried to explain.

"You mean like how Papaw, is your daddy?" Lani asked.

"Yes, exactly. Like Papaw is my daddy, Noah is your daddy."

"So, I don't have an Uncle Noah?" she asked a little pouty.

"Nope, you have something even better, daddy Noah."

"Yay! I like daddy Noah, better than Uncle Noah." She said matter of factly.

"But they're the same."

"Nuh uh! Uncle Marcus only comes by and plays with me sometimes but he gets to play with Ari all the time because he's her daddy and she gets him all to herself when they go home. Since Uncle Noah, is daddy that means I get him all to myself and we can play all the time." She said referring to her Mercedes' older brother and her uncle.

"Well not really kiddo. You gotta share him with me too." Mercedes smiled and hugged her.

"Okay, but only sometimes okay." She said holding her mothers face in her small hands.

"Okay baby. Only sometimes." She laughed. "Now that you understand, let's go tell daddy the good news."

"Can he just come in here mommy? I don't want us to get up. I wanna stay in your lap." She pleaded and Mercedes complied.

"Sure sweet heart. Noah!" she called out into the living room. "Can you come here for a second?"

Noah had remained on the couch. He'd only gotten up once to check on the food, and returned to his spot on the couch and was currently flipping through channels. He chucked the remote to the side of him and stood to his feet upon hearing his name being called, making his way to the room.

"Yes, your highness? What can I do for you this evening?" he asked as he leaned against the door.

"Daddy!" Lani yelled. "Come lay with us, please?" she asked with those big doe like eyes that matched his eye color.

"Daddy?" he looked at her shocked and then fixed his gaze onto Mercedes who simply nodded her head with a smile on her face.

"Yes, mommy said you're not Uncle Noah. And I was sad."

"Why were you sad princess?" he asked coming into the room completely.

"Because I didn't think you would be able to stay and play with me a lot like you do now. But then mommy said you were Daddy, so I was happy again because that means I get you all to myself." She smiled and Mercedes cleared her throat "Oh yeah, but I have to share you with mommy."

"Did she now?" a smiled appeared on his face. "How do you feel about that?"

"Mhm, she did." She smiled back. "And I like you being daddy, so can you please come lay with us now. Please!" she pleaded, with the infamous pout that got her and her mother whatever they wanted from him.

"Sure thing princess, whatever you want." He laughed as he kicked off his shoes and crawled into the pink bed with the two of them. Leilani crawled into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck while Mercedes snuggled into his sighed. He wrapped an arm around each of them protectively and placed a kiss on Leilani's head and one her Mercedes lips.

"I love you girls." he whispered.

"We love you too daddy." Leilani kissed his cheek and hugged him tighter.

"That we do baby, that we do." Mercedes smiled and kissed the little girl's cheek and then proceeded to kiss Noah back.


	3. Chapter 3

**_(Sorry to inform you all but this just might end up being a shitty chapter. I really wanted to get something up and posted as soon as I possibly could. I've been on break from college and trying to find the urge to write. When I started writing this particular chapter I was in the mood and then, I don't know. But I didn't want to keep you all waiting too much longer. So please read, leave comments and corners as you will and I'll try to update this story as well as my other and get some new ones posted soon). _**

**_In writing this story I have decided that it won't necessarily be in chronological order. And for he time being isn't being written in any one person's point of view or bouncing back and forth in between two. For now that is the writing style I chose to work with but it may change as I continue to write. As I stated previously, although I have started to write in order, from Noah finding out about Leilani and then forcing Mercedes to tell her about it, the story has been written following a timeline, but as we go deeper into the lives of Mercedes, Noah and Leilani, things will bounce back and forth. There will however be a message or title above the start of each chapter that briefly describes or hints at what the chapter will be about._**

**_Nutty Problem_**

"Are you serious right now? You've got to be fucking kidding me?" Noah groaned loudly as he quickly glanced upstairs to their daughter's room to make sure the door was closed and they couldn't be heard before he took a seat at the island in the kitchen. His head was killing him and he felt shitty. After all, it was his fault. She had been in his care and he had already beaten himself up senseless about but she wanted to argue, judge his parenting, despite the fact that he hadn't been able to discover all things about her.

"You almost killed my daughter. Does it look like I'm kidding?" Mercedes growled, poking him in the chest. She was fuming and was more than sure that if it was a cartoon, smoke would be coming from her ears.

"_Our _daughter, and for the millionth time, it was a fucking accident." he retorted glaring at her. "You act like I meant for this to happen. You act like I did it on purpose. Granted, I got her the ice cream because she wanted it, I didn't know what it would do to her."

"Accident my ass. Look, Noah, if you can't handle it, then you can leave. You don't have to be here."

"Seriously Mercedes, shut up! Just shut the hell up with all of that bullshit you're spitting right now."

"I'm just saying-"

"I'm just saying shut up with all that." he jumped to his feet, cutting her off abruptly.

"I'm not twisting your arm or forcing you to do anything. You' don't have to be here." She lied through her teeth. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of my child on my own. I've been doing it for years now, without any assistance from you and hardly from anyone else. And if you're not quite sure how this parenting thing goes, I'll be doing it for as long as I'm alive." Mercedes snarled, crossing her arms under her chest.

"So you're gonna continue to throw that shit in my face every time something goes wrong, when we both know I had no say in it? I didn't fucking know I had a kid in the first place. I didn't know. Know why?" he spewed sarcastically not waiting for a reply; "because YOU took off and kept her from me."

"Noah, I don't like how you're talking to me. I think you should leave. Or maybe we should seeing as house this is your house." Mercedes spoke softly chewing on her bottom lip.

"No! You're not going anywhere. You live here too now. You and my daughter and you're not taking her anywhere. And I'm not going anywhere. Okay, you act like I knew that she was allergic to it or that the shit had peanuts in it. If I did, do you think I would have given it to her or let her eat it? NO! No matter what you think or how you feel, I'm really trying to be a good father because I love that little girl and I'm not gonna hurt her. Now I've gotta go check on our daughter. "

Tears burned his eyes as he all but stomped past her and made his way up stairs to his daughter's bedroom where she lied half awake in her bed, waiting for him to tuck her in and read her a story. He moved slowly, cursing himself and hoping that she didn't hear them fighting because he didn't want her to hate him or think he was mean or a bad person.

"Hey ladybug, how are you feeling?" he asked as he reached her door and looked at the sick child. She didn't look as bad as she did at the hospital. He was grateful that the swelling had gone down tremendously. She still looked a little puffy in the face and he couldn't help but feel bad. She was with him when she swallowed the peanuts.

"I'm okay daddy." she whispered. Her throat was sore and any tone above the level she is now would hurt.

"I'm sorry Lei." he frowned and she sat up in her queen sized bed, opening her arms wide.

He laughed a bit and got into the bed with her, allowing her to grab all the covers she needed before he settled on top of them.

"It's not your fault daddy. I really wanted that cake and ice cream." she said with a wide grin. "It was good too."

"Oh really?"

"Yup." she nodded excitedly. "Up until my tongue got all fat like a sausage see." she giggled her voice a bit raspy and stuck out her tongue.

"Yeah Lei, I'm sorry about that." he grabbed her face with the tips of his fingers and squeezed lightly. She huffed but let him continue. He and Mercedes had been doing that to her all day. She was becoming annoyed but knew it's only because he's just checking to make sure the medicine was actually working and some other stuff she overheard the doctors mentioning.

"See daddy. It's almost normal sized. I'll be fine in the morning and I can try regular food. Mommy keeps giving me mushy stuff" she said scrunching her nose making a stink face and looking much like Mercedes. "Now can you read me a story?" she huffed and handed him a book.

"Sure princess." He grabbed the book and read the title, _The Princess and the Frog_. He shook his head and traded it for a different book on the shelf, The _Three Little Pigs_. It wasn't her favorite book, but she had already agreed to one book that night and it would definitely do the trick of putting her to bed the quickest. He sat down beside her and once she got a look at the book she pouted her infamous pout, her lip as far as it would go and crossed her arms under her chest.

"Daddy!" she whined and Noah chuckled before picking the first book back up.

"Okay Princess, ready?"

"Ready!"

Mercedes slowly made her way up the stairs after the fight trying not to make a sound and stood outside her daughter's bedroom, leaning on the door frame, legs crossed at the ankles, while her head rested upon the back of her hands with a smile plastered on her face. The sight before her is a beautiful one. Leilani laid up her bed, curled into the side of her father while one arm acted as an extra pillow, eyes drifting, while he read to her. Leilani was trying to fight her sleep again, as part of her bedtime ritual so to speak, but it seemed as sleep would succumb her sooner than normal. All the time at the hospital must've worn her out. Since Noah had begun reading her bedtime stories which occurred every night since he found out, even before they moved in together, Noah had always made sure he told Leilani a story before bed. At times when he couldn't be there, it was almost impossible to get the little girl to bed and Mercedes would have to call him to tell her stories over the phone. In some nights those were Lani's favorite because instead of reading a book, he'd make up his own story to tell her. Mercedes thought it was because she really enjoyed having him read to her but she would soon come to realize it's really because she's afraid she'll never see him again. The fear of losing each other becoming more and more visible in the two of them with each passing moment shared.

Mercedes stood by the door for quite some time just watching before leaving them to do their thing; tiptoeing past the little girl's room and heading into the one she shared with Noah. She stripped out of her clothes and into an oversized t-shirt and some shorts, then climbed in the bed by the time he had entered the room. It was silent. He didn't say a word as he searched through the drawers for what, Mercedes couldn't tell from her position on the bed. She flipped through the channels absentmindedly, keeping her focus on his moving form as he pulled a shirt from the drawer, pulled the one he had on off, and slip the fresh one on. He fumbled in the dresser for a while longer and pushed something in his pockets before closing the drawer back.

"Where are you going?" She asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed changing his shoes.

"Out." He answered back coldly.

"No seriously, where are you going?"

"What's it to you? You wanted me gone right." He shot back glancing over his shoulder lacing them up and standing to his feet "Don't wait up for me."

"Wait" she shouted and grabbed his arm before he got out of reach, "look, I'm sorry for blowing up on you. I'm new to this…this whole co-parenting thing. My daughter was sick and I blamed you. I know it's not your fault and I didn't mean anything I said. Just please, please don't go." She pleaded with him, her hands running across his broad shoulders and toned body.

"Mercedes, stop."

"No Noah! You can't go." She wrapped his arms around her and cupped his face, tears forming in her eyes. "You can't just leave-"

"I'm not leaving her okay. I would never just up and leave her. Or you for that matter, you listening."

"Yes I hear you." She sighed looking down.

"I know you hear me, but are you listening." He cupped her face forcing her to look up at him into his hazel eyes "I'm not leaving. Yes, I was leaving the house, to go for a drive. You know, clear my head. But I was coming right back to you. Look I won't even go if it's making you that upset okay."

"You don't have to stay here, you can go just as long as you come back, it fine."

"No it's not. I'm staying right here, now come lay with me."


End file.
